dragon skin boots
by Empress of Everything
Summary: It turns out that Natsu's stupidity isn't limited to their timeline. {NaLu, time travel}


**A/N:** _Written back when I actually shipped NaLu, lol._

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Most days in the Fairy Tail guild couldn't be called normal by any sane person's standards. The brawls, the magic flying through the air at random, the contests and bets, mages going to and fro, the sheer volume of alcoholic beverages ingested per year, all normal for Fairy Tail.

Sometimes, though, abnormal things happened. It was usually Natsu's fault. Not always, but usually.

It turned out that Natsu does stupid things in the future, too, as they learned after a massive explosion of magical energy hit the guild one afternoon.

As the dust settled, they could see a figure standing in the middle of the hall.

And _hear_ her, too. The people in Era probably heard her screams of outrage and fury.

"-DO YOU HEAR ME, NATSU DRAGNEEL? I'M GOING TO SKIN YOU ALIVE AND TURN YOU INTO FIRE DRAGON SKIN BOOTS IF YOU EVER PULL A STUNT LIKE THIS AGAIN! STOP READING STUPID FLYERS ON THE BOARD OUT LOUD, YOU BONE HEADED, MORONIC, ASH FOR BRAINS DRAGON!"

"Dragon skin boots." Lucy muttered. "Why didn't I ever think of that?" Natsu looked at her alarmed and began scooting away silently and swiftly.

As the figure in the middle of the guild continued to rage, ( _there were some threats of limb loss, a haircut, and various other indistinguishable rantings_ ), Makarov, Team Natsu, and Laxus approached warily. A high pitched scream made the whole guild jump as they could finally see who it was.

A furious woman whirled on them, her brown eyes focusing with laser-like intensity on Natsu. He took a step back, unsure as to what he had done. Then he got a better look at her face. "Huh, _Lucy?_ " But…but Lucy had just been next to him a moment ago!

She stomped forward, jabbing a finger into his chest. "Why do you look so surprised, moron? Serves you right for reading that stupid flyer off again." She threw her hands up in the air and turned away, not noticing the looks of pure shock on the faces of her guildmates. "You would think after all these years you would have learned, but nooo, you just have to rush ahead and be an idiot!" She whirled back around, giving him the full force of her murderous glare. Natsu quailed. She looked like Scary Lucy! "You're on the couch for _at least_ two weeks, buster. I can do without a heater for that long after that stupid stunt."

"H…huh?" Natsu blanched. On the couch? Doesn't need a heater? What was Lucy talking about? Wait, why were there _two_ Lucy's? This was too confusing. He tugged at his pink locks in frustration. Could someone explain why there were two Lucy's and why this one was so angry with him?

Everyone else seemed to understand what she was saying. Gray grinned, giving Natsu a jab in the ribs. The rest of their close friends had gathered around. Lucy was hiding her scarlet face in her hands. Money from Wakaba and Macao was handed over to a smirking Cana and Mirajane.

"So you finally confessed to Blondie, eh, Natsu?" Even _Laxus_ had a grin on his face. The other Lucy stared at him. Her head tipped to the side curiously, as if seeing him for the first time and not recognizing the large man.

"What are you talking about, Master? Of course he did. That's old news." She looked concerned, stepping forward to gently poke his chest. "Have you forgotten already? It's been years since we got married."

"My child, why are you calling Laxus Master?" Other Lucy turned to look at him, an answer ready on her lips when she realized who she was speaking to. Other Lucy's whole face blanched as she stared at Makarov. She looked as if she had seen a ghost. Other Lucy stumbled backward, gasping and clutching at a table for support.

"No," she whispered, abject shock written across her features. Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she trembled. "Not possible. Gramps?" She said his name with co-mingled fear and hope. Lucy dropped on her knees and grabbed the Master in a crushing hug.

It took several minutes of explanations, cursing, scarlet cheeks, and more cursing to get the whole story out.

"Of course it was Natsu's fault," Laxus grumbled, rubbing a hand over his face.

A very evil grin spread over Future Lucy's face. "Just wait until you're dealing with five mini Natsu's!" She said, gleefully cackling at Laxus's quietly terrified expression.

"Oh, hell no," Laxus snarled. He wheeled and stabbed a finger in Natsu's direction. "You are not allowed to reproduce! The _last_ thing we need is your stupidity spread around!" The pinkette wasn't given a chance to reply. His arm was too busy being crushed by his Lucy.

Future Lucy smugly patted her belly. "Too late!" She chirped. Her present counterpart flushed scarlet at this blatant shameless behavior. When did she turn into Lucy Ashley? As if reading her mind, Future Lucy laid a slim-fingered hand on her arm. "Once you have eight children, honey," she said sympathetically. "You tend to lose your sense of shame."

"Eight children," Lucy repeated in a daze. Her eyes sharpened as she clutched at her counterpart's arm, shaking it urgently. "You mean to tell me there are _eight_ Natsu's running about in the future?" She demanded, horrified.

Future Lucy chuckled. "Oh no, only a few of them have shown any signs of taking after Natsu. Something I'm _very_ grateful for," she said, rolling her eyes up to heaven with a sigh. "Even then, as someone once told me, 'Your husband is your biggest child and the one who needs the most adult supervision.' I'm sure you have an inkling of what that's like, sweetie." With that, she winked at her present counterpart who flushed and looked away.

The other women weren't interested in the number of children Lucy would have in the future. Their minds were more occupied by the details of Lucy's wedding.

"So, who was your maid of honor at your wedding, Lucy?"

Future Lucy smirked slightly and sipped her drink. "Wendy was," she answered casually.

"EHHH?!" Every Fairy girl in the vicinity screeched and turned to stare at the now furiously blushing bluenette. Future Lucy waved a hand. "Don't get mad at her, that was years ago."

As the day waned, Future Lucy told them all about the Fairy Tail of the future. They all listened with increasing shock and minor embarrassment. It seemed many of them had changed over the last 15 years.

Wendy and Romeo were dating.

Juvia and Gray had been married for ten years and Juvia was pregnant with their seventh baby.

Gajeel and Levy were married with five children and another on the way.

Lucy and Natsu have been married for 13 years and had nine children with another on the way but they lost one of their daughters when she was four. Future Lucy's voice shook a bit when she mentioned the loss of her daughter. She quickly moved on to the rest of the gossip. Cana rested a hand on her shoulder comfortingly as did Lucy from the present.

Laxus and Mira are married with three kids.

Makarov died five years ago but was able to see his first two great-grandchildren before he died and Laxus was now the guild master.

Erza and Jellal were married with four children and another on the way.

Cana and Bacchus were in a steady relationship and had been that way for about ten years now.

For hours, every guild member asked Lucy Dragneel questions about the future. She answered them all easily, knowing full well they wouldn't remember this conversation when she went back to her own time.

Eventually, though, the spell began to wear off. Behind Future Lucy, a black, pulsing rip in the air opened up. She turned at a call of "Mama! Look, Daddy! It's Mama!". Standing up, Future Lucy dusted her stomach off with a smile. "Well, that's my cue! It was nice chatting with all of you, but I have a husband to kick through the roof." Fairy Tail chorused farewells, Lucy Heartfilia getting up to offer her a hug.

Just before she stepped through the rip, Lucy Dragneel looked over her shoulder. Her brown eyes met Lucy Heartfilia's with a soft smile. "And Lucy? Don't wait too long. You don't want to miss your chance." She blew her counterpart a kiss and vanished back to her own time.

As soon as the rip closed, a burst of golden light enveloped the entire guild. Only one person remembered the existence of Lucy Dragneel but she kept her secret for many years.

Couldn't give away to much of the future, now could she?


End file.
